RCA Society

Alison Wilding at The New Art Centre

Alison Wilding exhibition
New Art Centre East Winterslow, Salisbury
10 September - 6 November 2011
http://www.rcasociety.net/content/alison-wilding-new-art-centre

RCA Society members took a day trip to the New Art Centre in the Wiltshire countryside. Our main reason to visit the centre was to see an exhibition of works by Alison Wilding "How the Land Lies".
'...Her sculpture is closely concerned with the physical qualities of materials. She uses traditional as well as contemporary sculptural processes, such as modelling, carving, casting and constructing to explore the contrasts and relationships between materials. Her sculptures often consist of two separate elements, which suggest opposite such as positive-negative, male-female, light dark...'
A group of Alison's more recent works ...floating lead balloons, black eels seeping out of an oversized roofed basket - guardian watchers of lightness and weight.... were located in the New Art Centre's long gallery onlooking an idyllic landscape dotted about with sculptures by such notables as Kenneth Armitage, Helen Chadwick, Barry Flanagan, Philip King, Richard Long. In the distance Anthony Gormley's leaden men dodged a herd of bulls oblivious to the artwork and closer to home Michael Craig Martins umbrellas rested oblivious to an early autumn drenching of rain.
The New Art Centre originally based in Sloane Street relocated in 1998 to the early Victorian manor house in Wiltshire - with the mission to locate works of art in a wonderful countryside parkland setting. In addition to its 'commercial gallery' exhibition activities the New Art Centre provides artist in residence schemes and its Educational Trust runs a programme of learning activities for schools. The beautifully architected gallery spaces, lovely Wiltshire landscape, the nearness to Salisbury and, of course, an unusual collection of artworks is well worth a visit.